Response From Pa. Department of Aging

Email exchange between Spotlight PA and Karen Gray, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania
Department of Aging.
Oct. 21, 2024
Q: Spotlight PA asked the department to respond to its findings regarding the county aging
agencies’ compliance with state regulations; criticisms of Secretary Kavulich’s leadership of the
department; and the incomplete data provided to the news organization in response to its public
records request.
We understand that different information was provided in response to two different RTKL
requests made over the course of several weeks. PDA is reviewing this discrepancy, and
we thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Secretary Kavulich was unanimously confirmed by the State Senate to take the Department
in a new direction, bringing greater focus to the needs of Pennsylvania’s growing older adult
population, and with it a multitude of program and policy innovations to ensure those
growing needs are met. His experience running an award-winning area agency on aging is
precisely what makes his leadership as Secretary such an asset to the Commonwealth.
Protective Services is one of the most critical services the county agencies perform, and it is
also one of the most challenging. Sec. Kavulich understands what this work looks like when
it is done correctly, and the obstacles local agencies face when they falter in meeting
performance standards.
Under Secretary Kavulich’s leadership, metrics are not being relaxed or weakened. The
Department is taking action to improve the quality of our services to older adults and how
we support the AAAs’ ability to deliver services, how we monitor performance, and how we
report performance. To this end, the Department has empowered new leadership in key
areas to improve the quality and consistency of our protective services work and is creating
a clear separation of duties between the monitoring that we do of AAA performance, and
the technical assistance and support we provide to them. This is a necessary and healthy
change welcomed by longtime, experienced management and staff at the Department.
Q: What steps does the department take when a county AAA is found non-compliant following a
monitoring?
A: The Protective Services team at PDA works every day to improve and protect the lives of
older adults and over the past 18 months, identified short-term strategies and long-term
solutions to compliance issues at the AAA level.
Specific and measurable goals were developed for the first time to help non-compliant AAAs
recognize the need to make changes and to help them move themselves into compliance.
A key element of the performance improvement approach we’re instituting is to hold

non-compliant AAAs accountable in meaningful, measurable ways, with the goal of ensuring
that each AAA will function in compliance autonomously, following a long-term plan that is
sustainable. We’ve updated our policies and procedures to include additional emphasis on
supervisory accountability at the AAA level to ensure that cases are reviewed in a timely
manner.
Protective services programs across the state and nation are facing staffing shortages; here in
PA, many AAAs have made measurable strides in increasing the staff complement. PDA is
assisting AAAs in these efforts by encouraging waivers to broaden the pool of applicants, not
just in the hiring of caseworkers, but for the supervisory staff that are critical to ensuring
consistent performance. One example might be an applicant who does not have a degree in
social work, but who has amassed career and life experience that is applicable to the role, i.e.,
retired law enforcement. This approach aligns with Governor Shapiro’s Executive Order
2023-03, which emphasizes skills and experience in Commonwealth job postings, to broaden
career opportunities and attract a greater diversity of skills and talents.
The impact of new staff is not immediate, for an investigator must undergo weeks of onboarding,
training and development before being assigned cases.
Staff training, retention and service delivery all go hand in hand, and PDA remains focused on
improving training resources for protective services workers throughout the network. PDA
improved and enhanced Protective Services basic training curriculum by extending it from a
three-day to four-day format and changed from a virtual to in-person environment providing
opportunities to delve deeper into content matter and facilitate better student engagement. PDA
is now also holding topic-specific enrichment training to meet the surveyed needs of staff, and
trainings to enhance supervisor skills.
The protective services quality assurance monitoring protocol is found in Section IX of the Aging
Service Policy and Procedure Manual Chapter VII: Protective Services, starting on page 89.
That information is public can be found on the Department of Aging’s website, here:
https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/aging/documents/resources-for-aging-profe
ssionals/policy-and-procedure-manual/chapter-vii_-protective-services-(7-2022)/ps%20chapter
%2003202023.pdf
Q: What is required by the county AAA when they receive a non-compliant rating?
Currently, deficiencies with AAAs are identified and referred to the Bureau of Protective Services
for ongoing Technical Assistance. These AAAs are then closely supported through routine
conversations and are reassessed/reevaluated every 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days (and
ongoing as needed).
The Department has increased communication with the AAAs to provide more effective,
accurate and timely technical assistance – so that counties better understand what is expected
of them and can develop clear, actionable plans for improvement.
Agencies that are notified of non-compliance are required to submit a corrective action plan
(CAP) to the department. Once the CAP is approved by the department, it is the agency’s
responsibility to initiate and implement the actions that were outlined in the approved CAP.
More information can be found in Section IX of the Aging Service Policy and Procedure Manual
Chapter VII: Protective Services, in the link provided above.
Q: What powers does the department have when a county AAA is chronically non-compliant?
There is no set standard specifically related to actions against an AAA for being chronically
non-compliant. However, under the law, the Department is authorized to withhold a portion of
the funding to an AAA that has failed to comply with Federal and State laws.
As part of its monitoring responsibility, the Department of Aging is authorized to require

non-compliant AAAs to develop corrective action plans to correct any existing problem. The
corrective action plan is designed to prevent a problem from recurring. It must be noted that
non-compliance by a AAA may be based on a range of issues including but not limited to delay
in the timeliness of an AAA not being able to make a conclusive determination on a case.
Delayed case determination may occur because of the following:
-Obtaining medical documentation from the OA’s physician or in the event the OA has not had
recent contact with a physician or health care provided, ascertaining medical documentation can
be challenging.
-AAA employee having difficulty conducting a face-to-face visit in the stipulated time frame.
Q: Has the department imposed fines or terminated a contract with a county agency that fails to
comply with state regulations regarding protective services? In answer to your follow-up
questions from 10/17:
As noted above, the Department’s powers to act against a AAA for being chronically
non-compliant relate to withholding funding, rather than imposing a fine. Yes, the Department
does have the power to terminate a cooperative agreement … The Department has never done
so. A primary consideration in any such action would always be ensuring the continued
provision of services that protect the safety and well-being of the older adults within a AAA’s
service area. Without AAAs, there is no other government entity or organization readily available
that has the expertise to provide these critical services for older adults.

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Email exchange between Spotlight PA and Karen Gray, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania

A key element of the performance improvement approach we’re instituting is to hold

As part of its monitoring responsibility, the Department of Aging is authorized to require

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